Microsoft Nears Massive Ad Deal

Microsoft will strike a deal to purchase Massive, a producer of technology that places advertisements into video games, according to The New York Times.

The news comes from a Wall Street Journal report in which a Massive board member, Douglas Miscoll, spoke of the deal, according to The Times.

Miscoll, who is also a partner with Newlight Associates, a venture capital firm, said the software giant will acquire Massive for between $200 million and $400 million, The Times reports. He also noted that the deal is not finalized and may not ever be, according to The Times.

Massive places ads in video games on “virtual billboards” or other video locations for companies like Coca-Cola and 20th Century Fox, The Times reports.

The majority of such advertisements have been inserted into games that are played on PCs, according to The Times.

Should the deal go through, Microsoft may find itself shut off from advertisements from such major video game system producers as Sony and Nintendo because there are competitors in the space.

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